Gold glistens as US-Iran tensions fuel flight to safety
Gold prices struck near six-year highs on Friday as a weaker
dollar and escalating US-Iran tensions fueled a flight to safer investments,
while oil futures built on strong gains.
The week has been an eventful one for stock markets, crude
prices and the dollar – and investors still have a key G-20 summit to look
forward to amid hopes for progress on the US-China trade war.
"Gold has been one of the week's biggest stories, with
the precious metal hitting $1,400 (an ounce) for the first time in almost six
years overnight," said Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG trading
group.
The gold spike has been caused by the change in sentiment
and dollar weakness amid "overnight talk of a canceled US strike on
Iranian targets highlighting how close we are from a huge ramp-up in conflict
between the two nations," he said.
US President Donald Trump said he approved the attack then
at the last minute scrapped strikes against Iranian targets.
Oil prices rose further Friday but the gains were muted
compared to a day earlier when crude futures surged about 4.5 percent on rising
tensions between the US and Iran.
Fears of a conflict in the oil-rich Middle East ratcheted up
Thursday when Tehran shot down a US spy drone that it said was violating its
airspace but which Washington said was over international waters.
Recent attacks on tankers close to the Strait, a key
shipping lane in the Gulf region through which nearly one-third of the world's
oil is transported, sent oil prices surging late last week.
'Gold's perfect storm'
But it was gold's turn to take center stage on Friday, with
the commodity reaching $1,411.63 an ounce, the highest level since September
2013.
"A slowing global economy, imminent US rate cuts and
rising geopolitical tensions provide a near perfect storm for gold bugs,"
said XTB chief market analyst David Cheetham.
Demand for gold has surged since the Federal Reserve on
Wednesday indicated it would likely cut interest rates soon – for the first
time in a decade – which sent the dollar tumbling across the board.
Stock markets also cheered the Fed's pivot, which opened the
door to a potential rate cut as soon as July, although Wall Street retreated
from Thursday's gains, which took the S&P 500 to a new record.
But the dollar's losses have been capped by both the ECB and
Bank of England also presenting dovish outlooks for eurozone and British
interest rates amid growth weakness, in part owing to Brexit uncertainty.
"With central banks having set out their stalls, it's
now over to the presidents of the US and China next week to really blow investors
away and push forward with trade talks," said Craig Erlam, senior market
analyst at Oanda.
Markets are squarely focused on next week's planned meeting
between Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20
summit in Japan.